The Underworld
by Earthbender2010
Summary: Sirius Black was dead. So why was he having hallucinations of Gods of Death, Ferrymen, and the Four Founders? Welcome to Wizard Death, the strangest place in the afterlife. I don't konw if this constitutes a X-Over, but PJatO Greek Mythology is used.
1. Chapter 1

Sirius was falling. That didn't seem right, however. If he was dead, why would he feel anything at all? This thought continued to buzz through his brain as the sensation of falling persisted. He vaguely wondered if he really was dead, and if this falling meant he was going to hell. He certainly deserved it, but having never believed in an afterlife, he was pleasantly surprised.

The sensation stopped and Sirius found himself lying, spread eagled, on a cold stone floor, gazing at a high arched ceiling that looked like it had come from some dark cave. He coughed as the smell of sulfur and ash met his nostrils.

"Well…well," said a sarcastic voice said from the other end of the hall. "What have we here?"

Sirius felt his brow furrow. He sat up and turned, feeling his bones ache and his head spin. At the end of the long hall was a tall, high backed throne that appeared to be made of human bones. In it was a tall man dressed in a crisp, black, pinstriped suit and glossy black shoes.

His black hair gave Sirius the distinct impression of familiarity, but he couldn't place who this man reminded him of.

"Well? Speak. Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The man didn't seem very patient. He was tapping his foot and glancing every now and then at the empty throne to his right. It was a different chair, a peaceful cream in the dark, black hall. It was obviously a woman's chair, and its empty state seemed to disturb the man in the suit.

Sirius stood and seemed to regain his voice. "I – I'm Sirius Black, convicted criminal and escapee of Azkaban Prison, Member of the Order of the Phoenix, and Godfather of Harry Potter."

Sirius felt startled. He had only meant to say his name, but something about the man pulled the truth from his lips.

The man's eyes narrowed. "You're a _wizard_." He spat the word like it was something disgusting.

"I am, and you are…?" asked Sirius, feeling his strength returning, and his sarcasm building again. This man didn't seem like a Voldemort type of character (excluding the throne of human bones) and Sirius was prepared to fight his way out of the strange throne room.

This question seemed to anger the man on the throne.

"I am _Hades_!" he thundered, standing to reveal his full height of close to twenty feet. "_God of Death and the Underworld!_"

Sirius took a step back in shock. "…God? You're God?"

Hades shook his head and covered his eyes with his large palm. "Typical," he muttered under his breath. "Typical mortal…typical _wizard_." He glanced up and his dark, empty eyes gazed a Sirius with a strange mixture of hate and confusion. "No, mortal," he rumbled. "I am not '_God_'. I am _a_ god, the god of the Underworld.

"I presume you, like most wizards, did not believe in some form of afterlife?" Hades was not impressed. He watched as Sirius gaped and slowly nodded.

"And you fell through the veil?"

"Yes, I was – wait, how do you know about the veil?" Sirius asked, shocked. Hades rolled his eyes.

"The number of your kind that fall through that during their 'experiments'… I take it you also work for the…what's it called… Ministry of Magic?" Hades asked, slowly sinking back into his throne. His glances to the other throne were becoming less frequent and Sirius could tell he was relaxing.

"Er…no, I was only in the Ministry to save my Godson. I was…" Sirius trailed off. He couldn't remember what had happened. One minute he had been fighting a Death Eater, and then he had heard Bella's high pitched cackle…and then he was falling.

"I fell through the veil…" He finished lamely.

Hades raised an eyebrow, and Sirius realized who this…god of death reminded him of.

"Snape!"

Hades looked taken aback. "What?"

"You remind me of someone I know." Sirius amended quickly. Hades looked at Sirius like he was crazy but shook his head and stood. Suddenly he was standing in front of Sirius, much smaller, but still menacing. Hades brushed his suit off and strode to the door behind Sirius.

Sirius just stared. Hades sighed. "Well, come along." Sirius jogged to catch up to the other man and followed, silent. He still wasn't sure what was going on…

"Why am I here?" he asked, glancing around at the cavernous space they were passing. A giant three headed dog growled softly at them as they passed but Hades threw a red rubber ball and chuckled.

"You're dead."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed.

"Why must you people ask such stupid questions?" Hades snapped, clearly annoyed. "I told you. I'm the God of Death. You are in my domain. Obviously, you are dead."

Sirius closed his mouth and followed Hades past a field full of standing people and he wondered if that would be where he would spend his eternity…he certainly hoped not. They were ascending a set of stairs and Hades pushed a door open at the end of the stairwell.

Bright light assaulted Sirius eyes and he found himself in a small waiting room full of people just milling about. The man behind the counter glanced up from his book and grinned. He had a gold tooth. His short crew cut hair shined in the light of the fluorescent bulbs.

"Ah, my lord Hades," he said in an oily voice. His accent seemed different from Hades' and he realized it was because the man behind the counter was British.

"Charon, I have another wizard." said Hades, his tone dry. "Please take care of his passage and deliver him to the _correct_ judges this time."

Charon grinned in a slightly sheepish manner. He nodded and turned to Sirius as Hades disappeared back through the door. He took out a book and grabbed a pen from the counter.

"Name? Occupation? Other identifying information – and your bank vault number." He grinned and Sirius had to suppress a shiver.

"Sirius Black, Member or the Order of the Phoenix, and, er, bank vault?"

"You have to pay the ferryman, Black," Charon cackled. "Since you're not a regular mortal, I can't just add the price to your bill. I have to withdraw it straight from whatever bank you use."

Sirius was beginning to wonder if he really was dead or if this was all some insane comatose dream. He shifted, glancing at the milling souls who had gloomy faces. There were some who looked like street urchins, homeless bums, and some children.

"Poor souls, didn't have any money." Charon shrugged and turned back to Sirius. "Now, vault number?"

Sirius turned back to the man, who was wearing an Italian suit. He had an earring and his dark eyes were alight with glee, deep, black, pitiless glee.

"Gringotts. 437."

Charon held out his hand, and two galleons fell into his outstretched palm. He tucked them away into a drawer and motioned for Sirius to follow him.

Sirius wasn't sure he liked being dead if it was this much trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

Charon led Sirius to a boat on a dark river, and motioned for him to sit. Sirius wasn't really comfortable in the small gondola type boat but he sat down and faced forward. He looked at the water uncertainly. It didn't look very clean. There were photos and broken bicycles, and odd knick-knacks floating in the river like some giant polluted river of trash.

"The River Styx," Charon said quietly. "You mortals pollute it with all your broken dreams and hopes. _Pathetic_."

Sirius scanned the river. There were diploma's and baby pictures, Muggle car keys, and even a broken wand or two. Sirius kept his mouth shut as Charon poled the boat down the river. He saw a huge field of people milling around and several lines leading to it. One was labeled "E-Z-Death".

"What – er – what's that?" Sirius asked, nodding his head at the lines.

"Where normal mortals get judged. The Fields of Asphodel are where people who haven't lived extraordinary lives go."

"…normal mortals?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"What do you _wizard's_ call them? Mugger's?" Charon's voice was amused. Sirius turned around and did a double take. Where there had been an Italian suit and expensive shoes, Charon was now clothed in a dark black robe and hood that shadowed his face.

"Muggles," Sirius corrected, "and if that's where Muggles go…where are you taking me?"

"To the place where your kind go."

Charon did not elaborate.

Sirius instead, watched his surroundings. Past the fields of Asphodel there was an area where he saw strange things. A man was desperately trying to eat the food dangling above his head, and it pulled away. He would try to drink the water but it shrank away from him.

Another man was trying desperately to roll a boulder to the top of a hill but it would only roll back and he would start again.

Then he saw something he rather liked. Cheerful looking homes of different styles, with large yards, and what seemed like actual daylight inside the large cavern filled the space.

"Elysium. Where the hero's and _godlings_ live." Charon spit out the word like it was a curse. It was almost the way Hades had said '_wizard_'.

Sirius didn't ask questions. Charon kept taking the boat down the river and they passed a lot of empty space. The large cavern seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, Sirius saw another set of lines, that were less crowded, and at the head was a table that was hosting four people.

The boat slowed down. Charon stepped out of the vessel and crooked a finger. Sirius stepped out and followed the robed ferryman up to the panel of judges. Charon smiled a strange smile.

"Wait in line and you'll be judged by one of the four judges who will send you to your people's side of the Underworld."

And then Charon returned to the ferry and was gone.

Sirius gaped. What was he supposed to do now? He was dead, had no idea what he was doing, and there was a line of witches and wizards. He supposed he should stand in line with them…

He climbed up to the line and shoved his hands in his pockets. The line seemed to be moving quickly. He couldn't see who was at the table, but he could see the back of the witches head in front of him. She looked oddly familiar…

"Bertha?" he exclaimed. "Bertha Jorkins?"

**A/N: Not my favorite chapter, but it had to happen.**

**Harpygirl24 - No, Snape is not related to Hades. They're just a lot alike. And this isn't TECHNICALLY going to be a crossover as you never see any of the Percy Jackson characters besides the the PJatO version of Hades and Charon. (And they're technically Greek mythology...which you can use anywhere.) Thanks for reviewing!**

**Authoressinhiding - Glad you like it! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Authoressinhiding - Come on, better reviews than that please? I know you can...**

"_Bertha?" he exclaimed. "Bertha Jorkins?"_

Bertha whirled around and grinned, her big toothy grin. Her brown hair was short, like he remembered, and curly and framed her round face. She chuckled and placed a hand on her hip.

"Sirius? Sirius Black?"

"The one and only," Sirius said with a smile.

She snorted. "Well that's too bad, I heard you were a murderer last I checked." She eyed Sirius who suddenly seemed sheepish.

"Well, you see, I'm…" He sighed. "Er…let's just say, it's complicated."

To Sirius' immense surprise, Bertha started to laugh. It was just an awkward laugh. She tilted her head back and chortled to high heaven. When she calmed down she wiped her eyes, and smiled brightly at Sirius.

"I'll have you know that it's thanks to a certain Peter Pettigrew that I'm down here, and I know you're innocent." She patted his arm. "I'm sorry you're here too."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. He was beginning to find death a very interesting experience. First there was the boat ride to hell, and now he was innocent. He shrugged and let Bertha chat him up, talking about what he missed while he was in Azkaban, as the line slowly moved forward.

"NEXT!" a harsh voice shouted and Bertha walked up to the table. It only took a few seconds and she waved at Sirius and walked through a gate to the right of the table. Sirius took a deep breath. He wasn't sure who the judges were, but they looked formidable. Two men and two women in deep colored robes of different designs sat at the table, looking exceptionally bored.

"NEXT!"

Sirius stepped up to the table.

"Name?" the raven haired woman asked in a bored tone. She was twirling her wand in a figure-eight while leaning her head in her hand. The woman next to her smiled politely at Sirius, her fingers absentmindedly twisting a lock of her gold hair around her wand. The men at the ends of the table merely glowered.

"Er…Sirius Black?" It shouldn't have been a question, but being faced with these four witches and wizards (who seemed oddly familiar), Sirius was losing his nerve. (This seemed to be happening a lot and Sirius decided that he _really_ didn't like being dead.)

The brown haired wizard sighed and buried his head in his hands while the black haired wizard leaned forward eagerly, his emerald green robe shifting with a hiss.

"Well, another Black?" the raven haired woman looked unimpressed. "Slytherin, you're house seems to be dying out. All the purebloods are dropping dead."

"Wait, you're the four founders!" Sirius exclaimed. It all made sense. The one at the far end in scarlet was Godric Gryffindor, the pretty blonde in yellow and black was Helga Hufflepuff, the cynical raven haired witch in midnight blue and bronze was Rowena Ravenclaw, and the snake-like founder at the end was Salazar Slytherin. (Sirius wondered slightly why he didn't notice it, but his brain seemed to feel fuzzy. He wondered if it was just because he was dead, or maybe he was in shock.)

"Yes, now, stand over here so I can judge you," Salazar Slytherin snapped. Sirius faltered.

"But…I wasn't in Slytherin."

Rowena Ravenclaw seemed to perk up at that. She seemed to scrutinize Sirius with her deep blue eyes, and sat back, suddenly extremely interested. Helga dropped her wand in shock.

"Not in Slytherin?" Salazar asked. "Really? Were you a Ravenclaw? The Blacks were always a smart bunch…"

"No," Sirius said, feeling his courage muster inside of him. "I was a Gryffindor, and proud of it."

If Sirius had been expecting a bad reaction, what he got was much worse. Helga and Rowena burst into uproarious laughter, and Salazar and Godric began having a shouting match. (This was frightening because they were the size of Hades, making Sirius feel extremely small.)

"OI!" Sirius shouted. "I'm sort of dead here! Can we _please_ get a move on?" The four judges froze and glanced down at Sirius.

"Very well, Mister Black, come here." Godric's voice was casually controlled. "We need to judge where you will be staying in the realm of Master Hades…" He casually flicked through some papers and nodded when he pulled one out. "Here is your fi…le…"

Godric trailed off as his dark brown eyes scanned the page. His eyebrows kept rising until it seemed that they would disappear beneath his hairline. Sirius felt his stomach drop. He was certain that this small sheet of parchment held his doom.

Breaking out of Azkaban was probably not appreciated in the afterlife…

"Well?" Salazar asked impatiently. "Judge him already! This shouldn't be that hard!"

"Unless he's indescribably evil like all Slytherin's turn out to be…" Rowena muttered under her breath. Salazar glared. Godric however, did not seem to hear them. He kept staring at a particular spot on the paper with shock.

"Godric…?" Helga asked quietly, nudging him gently. "Godric, you have to judge him."

"He's – but – he – you – Azkaban?" Godric stumbled, finally looking up from the page. His eyes met Sirius' and Sirius saw confusion deep in their depths.

"AZKABAN?" Roared the other three Founders. Sirius nodded.

"I was innocent though…"

"But you escaped!" Godric exclaimed. "You – you escaped!"

Sirius sighed. This was taking far too long, he thought to himself, as the table erupted into hysterics.

**A/N: Okay, another short chapter...it gets longer, I promise.**


	4. Chapter 4

Death was annoying. No, really. Sirius was already sick of being dead. Hades was less than welcoming, and slightly frightening. Charon had an attitude problem, and now this. Sirius wasn't sure if the Four Founders of Hogwarts were quite sane after nearly a century of being judges of dead witches and wizards.

"You escaped from Azkaban?" exclaimed Rowena. "How?"

"Why were you there in the first place?" Helga was distraught.

"This is just too perfect! Godric's perfect house has a criminal!"

"He was innocent!" snapped Godric. He was shielding the parchment from view of the other founders who were crowding around his chair, craning to see what was written there.

"I was imprisoned for murder," said Sirius simply. He wasn't afraid to tell them his past, after all – they had his entire life on one measly sheet of parchment… Honestly, one sheet of parchment! It seemed slightly offending that all Sirius had done only filled one parchment... Then he wondered how long Dumbledore's file would be...

"Murder…?" Helga was extremely distressed now. She was wringing her hands and looking at Sirius with a mix of pity, and shock.

"The Ministry of Magic believed I killed thirteen muggles and one…" he grit his teeth, "_wizard – _with a single curse."

Rowena's eyes narrowed. "That's not magically possible. At least, there isn't a curse I know that can kill more than one person at once." She narrowed her eyes.

"Well there is," said Sirius calmly. "But I didn't cast it. The other wizard, Peter Pettigrew, blew up half the street, cut off his finger, transformed into a rat and disappeared down the storm drain."

"How did they catch you?" asked Salazar, intrigued.

Sirius shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't sure he wanted to speak of this part of his past. He took a deep breath. "I sort of…lost it. My whole life had apparently been a lie, my best mate and his wife were dead because of my so called friend – who happened to be a Death Eater, and he shouted in plain view of every Muggle in the street that it was _**I**_ who betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort…so naturally the Muggles believed it.

"I just cracked up in the middle of the street. I laughed. There was no way I was escaping Azkaban after that little show. And I had no reason to live after that anyway."

The Four Founders were silent, and then suddenly Godric's head shot up. "Aha! James and Lily! I knew it! _You're_ the friend of the Potters!"

Rowena's face lit into a smile. "James and Lily! Oh they're simply marvelous people!"

"James…the funny one?" asked Helga, one eyebrow raised. Rowena nodded and Helga too, burst into a radiant smile. "Oh, I love the Potters. They always ask for news about their son, Herman?"

"Harry!" corrected Sirius at once. "I was just with Harry! We were fighting Voldemort's Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries!"

Godric smiled, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "I saw that."

"The Potters will be glad to see you, Sirius Black," said Rowena, giving Sirius a genuine smile. He fidgeted. She was viewing him like she knew his every secret. "There are _several_ people who will be glad to see you."

Godric cleared his throat. "If I may…"

"Oh yes, of course," said Rowena, flapping a hand.

"You are worthy of Elysium, Sirius Black. Go through the gate, and you will find yourself there." said Godric formally, while he elbowed Salazar Slytherin who was now sneakily trying to reach the parchment.

Sirius nodded, suddenly numb. That was it? He was worthy of a Wizarding Paradise? He forced himself to start walking. He heard Rowena call at him over his shoulder.

"The house you want is sixteen streets down, the fourth street on your right, nine houses down on the left – it should be the blue one at the cul-de-sac!"

Sirius waved a hand, unsure of whether he would be taking her directions. He passed through the gate and stumbled.

He was in a giant cavern that seemed to stretch on forever. But the ceiling looked like the sky, with the faintest hints of rock showing through the beautiful clouds. There were rows and rows of houses, and streets, and street lamps, on top of gorgeous manicured lawns. It looked like Godric's Hollow. The perfect Wizarding community…

Dusk was growing on the enormous subdivision and Sirius started walking. There were wizards and witches outside, some of them working in their backyard gardens, others playing with children that were riding brooms that barely rose three feet off the ground. Sirius stared as he walked.

A couple people waved jovially and Sirius tentatively waved back. He didn't know them, but assumed they were being friendly. He also wondered what he looked like. He felt younger, and could breathe better than he had in years. He quickly ran a hand through his hair.

It was short.

He wondered vaguely if a person could choose what age they wanted to be. Because it felt like he was suddenly seventeen again…

Fourteen…fifteen…sixteen streets he passed. At street sixteen, called Wendelyn Walk, he turned down it and counted four streets down. He took a right on Beater's Way and counted nine houses down the left. He kept walking. There were less people out and about on this row of houses, but there were lights on inside.

At the beginning of the cul-de-sac, on the left, was a tall, two story powder blue house. There were lights on in nearly every room and he could smell food cooking from the kitchen. He took a deep breath. He hoped that Rowena hadn't led him wrong.

He trudged up the walkway and took a deep breath. He crossed his fingers in his pocket and knocked softly, waiting with bated breath.

The door opened and Sirius nearly fainted.

**A/N: Does anyone know if it's called a cul-de-sac in England? I wasn't sure what else to call it...when I was little I called it the round street...heh.**

**Authoressinhiding - MUCH better. ^_^ And Dorcas will be coming around soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

Red hair and wide bright green eyes looked at Sirius with a peculiar familiarity. Her head was tilted to the side, and her hands partially drying themselves on her red and white apron. Sirius felt light headed. He may have stopped breathing. (Not that it mattered...)

Recognition dawned on her freckled face. Sirius heard the soft intake of breath and waited, eyes never leaving her bright face.

"Who's at the door?" he heard a laughing voice call from down the hall. In a matter of seconds, a tousled head of black hair, and rectangular glasses appeared in the doorway. Sirius braced himself as he heard another gasp. The hazel eyes behind the wire rims widened.

Before Sirius knew what was happening, he felt two heavy thuds hit him and he was being embraced by the two people he had most longed to see. Tears stung at his eyes, and he mentally berated himself for becoming so soft. (Sirius Black doesn't cry, he thought angrily. Sirius Black is real man. His excuses were pathetic sounding to his own ears.)

"_Sirius_."

Sirius hugged his best friends, the tears now flowing unchecked. He coughed and stammered through some form of an apology before they released him, their faces shining, James' cheeks were also stained with tears.

"James… Lily – I – I…." he fumbled.

"Don't be stupid," James said, quickly wiping his face with his sleeves. "Come on, get inside, we have plenty of time to talk."

Sirius followed the pair into a wide hall that led to several rooms down at the end, a set of winding stairs to the right. There was a door at the end of the stairs that probably led to another hall with bedrooms. Lily opened the door on the left and led the two into a comfortable kitchen area, with a table and chairs which Lily cleaned with a wave of her wand.

"Sit, Padfoot," said James, pulling out a chair. "Are you hungry? Depending on the state you left in, it might take a while to get hungry."

"Starving," Sirius admitted.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Typical Sirius…one word sentences." But behind her sarcasm was a smile and she set about to make some food, waving her wand and glancing every so often at Sirius. James smiled reassuringly at her and sat with Sirius, leaning back in his chair, two legs off the ground like James always had.

Sirius was still in shock. He kept looking between his two friends, unsure. (He shouldn't have been this shocked, because he _knew_ he was dead, but fourteen years separation can do that to a person).

"James, I -," Sirius began, but James waved his hand.

"I know, Lily and I went through the same thing."

"You fell into Hades living room?"

"Yes, we – wait, what?" yelped James, eyes widening with the full understanding of Sirius' words. Sirius nodded, taking a bite out of the pie Lily had placed in front of him. She took a seat to James' left and looked, wide eyed at Sirius.

"I was going to say that I don't understand – this is all too strange, after falling into the throne room of some man, twenty feet tall who despises wizards and calls himself the God of Death, being taken to the waiting room for the ferryman and then dragged all the way back down here to have the Four Founders of Hogwarts interrogate you…"

Sirius desisted and took a breath. He had just unloaded every doubt, concern, and ounce of confusion and was still feeling very unsure.

James' brow furrowed.

"Sirius, I think it would be best if you told us how…you died."

Sirius opened his mouth, more than glad to oblige, but froze when he heard the door open and close.

"I'm back!"called a voice from the hall. James and Lily exchanged panicked glances. The footsteps grew closer. "You'll never _believe_ what idiocy that Chairman-"

Whatever idiocy the Chairman had been accused of was not discovered, however, because the words died in her throat. Sirius turned and thought he had died a second time.

Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, in formal, midnight blue robes was a girl, around the age of seventeen. Her shoulder length blonde hair was pulled to the side of her head in two separate pig tail braids. Her blue eyes gazed at Sirius in shock, her mouth slightly agape.

Sirius exhaled the breath he had been holding.

"Dorcas."

"So," said Dorcas Meadowes stiffly, "when did _he_ get here?"

**A/N: Short, again...sorry. Er, sorry about that. Dorcas had to get here though. I promise it will get longer. At least I regularly update! If I keep getting more reviews, I'll soon post until I'm not far ahead of the story! I like being able to have chapters on hand to readily post! Heh! But I'm not complaining about the reviews!**

**AiH - My pleasure to post for you, dear. Here's Dorcas, as promised.**

**Xx-Dhru-xX - Thanks! Uh...I can't describe a cul-de-sac, but I wanted the Underworld to be a giant American subdivision. We'll just pretend that Sirius has a clue what cul-de-sac means...eheh.**

**ariex04 - Thanks for the review! I really appreciate it!**


	6. Chapter 6

"_So…when did he get here?"_

Sirius gaped openmouthed like a fish as Dorcas Meadowes, _the_ Dorcas Meadowes, busied herself around the kitchen, making herself a pot of tea. She was pointedly avoiding his gaze, and Sirius was flustered by her cool attitude towards him.

Well, their last encounter hadn't been pleasant, and Sirius was quite certain that he brought up these memories in Dorcas' mind. But that shouldn't have been reason enough to treat him with such coldness. James and Lily were surprised as well.

"Er…" Lily struggled for words. "Just now, Dorcas."

Dorcas nodded, standing on her toes to vainly try and reach a box of tea that was on the top shelf. She struggled for several minutes, straining with all her might to coax the box out with her finger tips. A large, warm hand covered hers and pulled the box from the shelf.

Dorcas exhaled. "Thank you," she whispered, suddenly keenly aware of the proximity between herself and Sirius. She still refused to turn towards him, or look in his face.

"You're welcome," Sirius replied shortly. He moved closer to Dorcas, and she moved away. He kept moving until he had her cornered against the pristine counter. "So why won't you look at me?"

Dorcas looked over Sirius' shoulder for some sort of sign or motion of help from James and Lily, but the two were too wrapped up in watching the scene unfold to witness Dorcas' silent plea for help. She absentmindedly tugged on her braid.

"I _am_ looking at you…" she said vaguely.

"No," Sirius said quietly. "You're not. _Look at me._"

Finally, Dorcas' bright, blue eyes, looking into Sirius' deeper ones, began to water. Tears fell from her lids and the box of tea fell from shaking fingers. Before Sirius knew what was happening, Dorcas had literally thrown herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Sirius staggered back with the force of her hug, feeling her tears soak into the shoulder of his robes. (Robes, he realized, he had been wearing when he died… Robes that weren't very clean.)

"I'm sorry," he heard her whisper into his neck. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be," he murmured quietly. "It wasn't your fault."

"I shouldn't have yelled," she continued. "I shouldn't have yelled at you… I saw you, watching me. I wanted to tell you how sorry I was…how sorry I am. I died before I could tell you I loved you."

Sirius felt a familiar jolt in his stomach, the night, years previous when this particular argument had taken place. It had been an ugly fight, with harsh, hurtful words hurled at each other, ending in Dorcas chucking a vase at Sirius' head, and having it shatter against the wall.

Sirius remembered climbing into bed that night, hearing the sounds of Dorcas crying downstairs, and still being too furious to go and apologize, comfort her, and tell her he was sorry. He had felt so much regret over that one action for many years to come…

The next day, he awoke and Dorcas was gone. She had some sort of job to do for the order. She had left a brief note on the table. Later in the afternoon, Sirius' door was slammed open by Fabian Prewett. The old house Dorcas had been sent to investigate had been a set-up.

The entire Order of the Phoenix was going to fight. Sirius felt the guilt roiling in his stomach as he and Fabian Disapparated…

Sirius had dragged his feet, slamming the door, leaning heavily on anything he could, as he hauled himself to the kitchen. He was drowning in grief and despair, and planned on drowning in something stronger.

As he made his way to the cupboard where he had stashed a fair amount of Ogden's Old (against her wishes), he stumbled, his hand reaching out to catch himself on the table, causing a small piece of parchment to flutter the floor.

Sirius froze.

Slowly, he reached his hand down and picked up the parchment, the familiar handwriting screaming at him. He read.

_Sirius,_

_Dumbledore had an assignment for me – I should be home tonight._

_I'm sorry._

_Dorcas_

_PS – We're running out of milk, I'll pick some up on my way home. _

The grief seemed to slowly consume Sirius as his eyes drank in the words, the handwriting, scanning the page again and again. A sound suddenly echoed through the house. Sirius' eyes grew blurry and he realized that the sound was coming from him.

Loud, chest shaking sobs filled the kitchen as Sirius sank to his knees, the paper fluttering from his grasp.

Sirius felt his chest aching with the sudden renewal of this memory, as fresh as if it had been yesterday. But here he was, in the Underworld, in the kitchen of the blue house on Beater's Way, Dorcas' arms around him. He was not in his home in London, the day Dorcas had died.

"I'm sorry," he choked out. He inhaled her scent, and closed his eyes. "Dorcas, I'm so sorry."

Dorcas slowly pulled away, smiling a watery smile up at him. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and tugged his arm. She jerked her head at Lily and James.

"I believe you were in the middle of something…before I interrupted."

James laughed. "It was worth the interruption to have you finally stop moping around." He grinned at Sirius. "Honestly, it was difficult to say anything around here. One mention of 'Sirius', 'Padfoot', or 'dog' and she went off again with the waterworks!"

Sirius chuckled and allowed Dorcas to guide him to his previously vacated chair. He sat and she pulled a chair close to his. She moved to sit, but Sirius pulled her quickly onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Sirius," she whispered, her face turning red. (She never had been good with public displays of affection…) "This is awkward."

"But far more comfortable," he said, grinning back at her. "As I was saying, dying. Right…well, here's how it happened…"

When he finished his tale, with his arrival on the doorstep of the blue house on Beater's Way, the reaction was, yet again, not what he expected. (He decided he should stop assuming things.)

Sirius' tale was met with total and complete silence.

**A/N: Huge emotional breakthrough in the SiriusxDorcas genre for me... I may write the actual fight later. I'm reworking the death of Dorcas anyway... Thanks for your reviews! They keep me posting!**

**AiH - It's finally Dorcas! Hope you like it!**


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